About Citi Double Cash Card

With the Citi Double Cash card, you’ll be able to earn cash back on all your purchases twice: 1% cash back as you buy, and another 1% cash back as you pay the minimum amount due each month.

The Citi Double Cash card also features a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on all purchases and balance transfers, no annual fee, no caps on the amount of cash back you can earn, and no category restrictions. You’ll even get free fraud and lost card protection, VIP access to events, travel and purchase protection, extended warranties, and more.

Years ago, it was tough making a decision which credit card was ultimately the right one for you. Some offered cash back, while others offered travel points; some focused on balance transfers, while others specialized in rewards.

Today however, there’s a new breed like Citi Double Cash, which offers a variety of benefits, making the final decision even more difficult. To help you figure out if Double Cash fits the bill, we’ll start by talking about its unique features. Then, we’ll talk about benefits available on Citi cards in general. Ready? Let’s dig in.

Citi Double Cash’s Unique Features

Obviously, Citi Double Cash’s most prominent feature is its double cash back; first when you make a purchase, and again when you make a payment. If this sounds a little confusing, here’s a quick example:

Let’s say you purchase $100 worth of groceries. You’ll immediately earn 1% cash back, or $1. When your bill arrives, let’s say you only decide to pay half ($50). This means you’ll then earn another 1% on your remaining balance the following month, or $0.50.

This way, you can choose to pay your bill all at once or over time, and as long as you continue making at least the minimum payment, you’ll continuing earning that additional 1% on your purchases. Just keep in mind that Double Cash’s unique feature only applies to purchases, so you won’t earn any cash back on balance transfers, cash advances, account fees, interest, or returned items.

Perks for Doing Business With Citi

For having a Citi account, you’ll also gain several additional benefits, although they’re not specific to the Double Cash card. These include:

Fraud & Theft Services

All newly-issue Double Cash cards will come with EMV chip technology, which provides enhanced security compared to the old magnetic strips.

Citi’s Lost Wallet service can replace your lost or stolen Double Cash card, usually within 24 hours, and will even provide you with emergency cash (subject to your cash advance limit). You’ll also gain access to 24-hour fraud protection that will alert you if any unusual activity is detected on your account—and if it is, their $0 liability for unauthorized charges coverage will protect you.

If the unspoken happens and you fall victim to ID fraud, Citi’s Identity Theft Solutions will provide assistance.

Travel & Vacation Benefits

Your Double Cash card will also come with some Citi-specific travel and vacation perks, like trip cancellation and interruption protection (up to $1,500 per year), worldwide travel accident insurance (up to $250,000), in addition to worldwide car rental insurance up to $50K.

Citi’s Purchasing Perks

Citi’s Price Rewind feature can help you get a lower price after you buy. How? By tracking prices at hundreds of online merchants for up to 60 days from your purchase date. Then, if something comes by that’s lower, you might be eligible for a refund of up to $300 per item and $1,200 per calendar year.

If items purchased with your Double Cash card are damaged or stolen? If it occurs within 100 days of your purchase date, you could be covered up to $1,000 per item and $50K per calendar year.

Finally, if you purchase an extended warranty of five years or less, Citi will add up to a year on your warranty and cover you up to $10K per calendar year.

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Citi’s Concierge & Private Pass Services

Citi’s Private Pass service gives you special access to event tickets each year, such as “presale tickets and VIP packages to concerts, sporting events, dining experiences, plus complimentary movie screenings and more.” And similar to a personal assistance, their Concierge Service can “help you with everything from making travel arrangements and dinner reservations, to ordinary conveniences like scheduling a cleaning service and finding a dog walker.”

Citi Double Cash’s APR & Fees

As we mentioned above, the Citi Double Cash card comes with a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. After that, however, your variable APR will be 13.24% 16.24%, 19.24%, 21.24%, or 23.24%, based on your creditworthiness.

Each balance you transfer to your Double Cash card will be assessed a fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. Also, remember that in order to qualify for the 0% APR, you’ll have to make your balance transfers within four months of opening your account.

As far as cash advances, you’ll pay a 25.49% APR, along with a fee totaling $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.

The Double Cash card doesn’t come with an annual fee and the company will overlook your first late fee, but this doesn’t necessarily mean your penalty APR won’t suddenly jump to 29.99%.

Foreign purchase fees are 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase, and any cash back earned with your Citi Double Cash card can be redeemed for checks, statement credits or gift cards.

Have more questions about Citi Double Cash’s interest rates and fees? Be sure to speak with an account representative at 877-645-3781.

Citi Double Cash’s Reviews

Nerdwallet gave Double Cash a 4.8 rating (out of 5) based on its simplicity and unlimited rewards, although they didn’t think it would be the best choice for someone who’s primarily interested in transferring balances.

On the other hand, 60 NerdWallet reviewers only gave Double Cash a 3.5-star average rating. Common compliments were the card’s high cash back percentage and its ease of use. Some, however, didn’t appreciate that they received a low limit, or the card’s high APR.

Similarly, the Citi Double Cash card earned a 3.8-star rating on CreditKarma, based on 180 reviews. Again, most compliments revolved around high cash back and ease of use, while most complaints referenced low limits (or declinations) and poor customer service.

Is Citi Double Cash the Right Card for You?

And just like there’s no single tool that’s ideal for every job, there isn’t one credit card that’s going to meet every consumer’s needs.

To this extent, perhaps the most important step in determining which card is right for you is deciding which factors are most important.

For example, are you planning to transfer large balances immediately after opening your account? You’ll probably want to focus on cards that offer the lowest APRs for the longest time periods.

Or, do you spend thousands each month on your credit cards, and you’re looking to maximize your cash back? Then you’ll want to look more at cash back cards like Double Cash.

Pro tip: Just remember, even with 2% cash back, you’d have to spend a decent chunk of change to earn anything meaningful. Even if you spent $10K per month on your Double Cash card, you’d only earn $200 back!